Tuesday, August 16, 2011

SELF PUBLISHING: PART FOUR. NOW WHAT?

Most writers, both self published or traditionally published, face the same challenge. The evil M word. Marketing. We spend endless hours creating our masterpieces. Now, how the heck do we get people to read them? Author junkets paid for by publishers with deep pockets are a thing of the past unless you're Nora Roberts or James Patterson. And, don't wait around for an invitation from Piers Morgan or the Today show . . . not unless you've written a book about how Princess Diana really died or an unauthorized biography of Lady Gaga. The rest of us poor slobs pretty much have to do it ourselves. If you do everything the so-called experts say you should do: create a website and personal blog, send out newsletters, participate in blog tours, hold contests and connect with others via social media, tell me, when do you have time to write? I wish I had the definitive answer. I don't. But let's hear from other writers who are wrestling with the same problem. Where did I meet them? Yep, that's right. Social media.

Louise Birkett, author of the novel, The Jenny Wilson Show says, "Non-fiction and journalism is what I'm known for and now I'm facing the issue of how to market something entirely different. Marketing and promoting fiction is a whole new world." Visit Louise at http://www.louisebirkett.com

Jenifer Gershman who published her book Where Did Mommy's Super Powers Go with Lisa Ross of Sweet Dreams Publishing says this about marketing, "The challenges I face now are PR and marketing of the book. However, as a high-energy, extroverted "people person," I am working my tail off doing everything I can to get this book into the hands of parents struggling to balance a serious health crisis while raising small children." Check out Jenifer's blog at: http://www.tinyurl.com/mommypower.

Kelly R. Martin, owner of Myth/Logic Press has this to say, "There is no universal definition of success in the writing business. There are only preconceptions of success or failure. Do you feel like you're succeeding at what you're doing, or do you feel like you've wasted your time and effort? So far, I don't feel like my effort has been wasted and I'm still running red ink. If my ledgers change to black ink, then everything else is gravy."

Erin Lale who was featured in Part Two of this series adds this, "There is so much being published on the net that the whole world has become like trying to advertise a small business in Las Vegas under the glare of giant casino signs while taxicabs with pictures of naked ladies on their roofs whiz by."

If you're an author, either traditionally published or self published, what have you learned about marketing your book? What worked for you? What was an utter waste of time? Please leave a comment. Inquiring minds want to know.